City District Government Karachi (CDGK), on the directive of the City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan has established Rain Emergency Centres with immediate effect.
These rain emergency centres will work round the clock and are aimed at infusing a sense of urgency in all the relevant civic agencies for gearing up their responses towards challenges of a rain emergency.
The other objectives of the establishment of these centres include creation of a city-wide rain emergency response for co-ordinating human and material resources of all the civic agencies and early implementation of emergency measures to minimise adverse effects of rains.
According to a CDGK spokesman, the measures proposed for rain emergency can be divided into three phases that are pre-rain emergency measures, measures required during rains and measures to be taken after rains.
In this connection, the city Nazim has directed EDO Health to ensure that medical centre at Civic Centre to be kept operative round the clock with availability of medical officer, ambulances, sufficient medical staff for assistance etc, while all other medical officers will be directed by the EDO Health to remain available at home and report for duty on telephone call from the EDO.
In addition, EDO Health may ensure the round the clock availability of medical officers, ambulances and sufficient medical and paramedical staff for assistance in all hospitals of CDGK during the rain emergency.
The city Nazim has also directed Chief Controller KBCA to prepare a list of dangerous buildings to be got vacated immediately if danger of collapse in rainstorm exists. While a timely warning of such a possible collapse will also be given to residents.
The officers/officials in the emergency centres are required to keep continuous liaison with control room, DCO Office and extend all possible help during any emergency.
All the CDGK officers in the emergency centres will be responsible for keeping contact with meteorological department regarding approach of any cyclone etc and provision of information in this regard, provision of engineering assistance in case of any emergency, provision of engineering advice to other civic amenities, assistance in provision of all emergency relief and in supplying goods to other official agencies, co-ordination among all available manpower, vehicles and other resources etc.
The notified emergency centres are: Civic Centre CDGK Secretariat office at 4th floor, Phone 9230278, Works and Services Department Camp Office at Guru Mandir Office, near Dawood Engineering College, Ph: 9231365, Defunct KMC Workshop at Nishtar Road, Ph: 9215654, DDO Malir Office, near Hino Chowrangi, Ph: 5389966, and DO (Housing) Office at Civic Centre, Ph: 9230661.
The major tasks of these centres include assistance in case of flooding of house/buildings, creating dykes/bands against beaches in sea wall, clearance of debris of collapsed buildings, removal of dead bodies and evacuation etc, keeping road clear of debris, broken trees etc, provision of engineer plant vehicle and engineer advice, inform and assist KESC in clearance of fallen down street lights, poles, wires etc, inform Sui-Southern of leakage in gas pipeline etc.